Wildfires sweep through Greece, destroy homes

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Wildfires continue to sweep across Greece with its biggest front in the Dadia National Park, located north of the country and close to the Maritsa River.

Firefighters continue efforts to extinguish the flames for the sixth day as thousands of hectares of protected forestland have been gutted.

Several villages have already been evacuated while more than 2,500 hectares (6,177 acres) have been destroyed causing an unprecedented ecological disaster.

The forest of Dadia, apart from a rich ecosystem, is of particular importance as it is the only home for the endangered black vulture, while it hosts three out of four vulture species in Europe.

Some 320 firefighters along with municipal workers and volunteers aided by helicopters and planes are at the site.

Another fire in Midilli (Lesvos) Island was contained after three days, the Fire Department said.

The fire forced vacationers and residents to flee their homes and hotels. Several houses were gutted.

Another fire in the Peloponnese, which has been burning for six days, has shown signs of improvement, according to the Fire Department.

Greece is reeling through a heat wave that hit the country on Saturday with temperatures rising as high as 42C (107 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country.

Earlier this month, Greece suffered another major wildfire in Mt Pendeli, northeast of the capital Athens, destroying houses and burning thousands of hectares of forestland.

Greece’s wildfires last year ravaged more than 121,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of forest across the country.